US3046005A - Aluminum tubular furniture and methods of making the backs and seats thereof - Google Patents

Description

July 24, 1962 B RADUNS 3,046,005

S. ALUMINUM TUBULAR FURNITURE AND METHODS OF MAKING THE BACKS AND SEATS THEREOF 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 13, 1959 INVENTOR. Solomon B.Rc1duns ATTORNEY July 24, 1962 s B. RADUNS 3,046,005

ALUMINUM TUBULAR FURNITURE AND METHODS OF MAKING THE BACKS AND SEATS THEREOF 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 13, 1959 INVENTOR.

on B. du'ns BY 9 ATTORNEY ilnited rates Patent Ufihce 3,046,005 Patented July 24, 1962 far-E 3,046,005 ALUMINUM TUBULAR FURNITURE AND METH- UDS 3F MAKING THE BACKS AND SEATS THEREOF Solomon B. Raduns, Brooklyn, N.Y. (14-50 128th St., College Point, N.Y.) Filed July 13, 1959, Ser. No. 826,694 14 Claims. (Cl. 267--110) The present invention relates to an aluminum tubular chair or furniture construction and it particularly relates to a method of forming the back and seat thereof.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a simple method of lacing backing and seating strand material between separated legs, particularly parallel legs formed of aluminum tubing so that a permanent and strong support structure will be formed and at the same time a structure attractive to the eye.

Another object is to provide a novel method of weaving backs and seats for tubular aluminum furniture so that the back and seat structure will be formed strong, firm, rigid and of attractive appearance and will support substantial weight with sufhcient give to provide a comfortable seat and rest and at the same time with ability to restore itself to the original appearance when not in use.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most satisfactory, according to one embodiment of the present invention, to use a vinyl polymer tubing, such as a co-polyrner of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate or vinyl chloride or vinylidene chloride or a vinyl chloride co polymer itself.

Desirably the tubing is extruded so that it will have a wall thickness between /6 to /3 of the outside tube diameter and the amount of plasticizer should be reduced to such an extent that the polymer or co-polymer will restore itself to its original length when stretched.

Desirably the co-polymer will permit ready stretching to an elongation of 10% to with the product readily restoring itself to its original length when the stress is removed.

Desirably this tubing is then strung on to engagement or hook members which may be positioned along the back of or along the sides of separated or parallel tubular members forming the sides of the back or the sides of the seat of the tubular aluminum chair, lounge or other article of furniture.

in the preferred embodiment of the present invention there are provided rows of engagement members or hooks along the backs of the tubular members which are positioned in parallel rows both interiorly and exteriorly.

The outside engagement members are designed to receive the loops of the tubular vinyl polymer as it is strung across the backs of the chair to form the seat thereof.

After this has been done tightly, then the transverse strands alternately are moved upwardly or downwardly across the other strands and looped on to one of the inside hooks so as to give a criss-cross structure.

It has been found that this extra looping will give satisfactory continuation to the tubular material and at the same time give a strong criss-cross structure which will adequately support the body of the user and at the same time give suflicient yieldability, while quickly restoring itself to its original length.

The positioning of the strands in a series of offset, oblique planes, rather than of lying parallel in one plane, gives a much better support structure.

Furthermore, additionally to lock these strands in position, an extra length of the same size or wider tubular stock may be positioned between the loops and between the hooks, and the hooks may then be forced together to lock the structure in position.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more specifically described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications can be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view showing the vinyl loop structure as it is formed by first looping the strands on the outside hooks and then cross looping on the inside hooks.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top perspective view of one of the engagement hook structures, before attachment to one of the side aluminum tubular members and before the looping has been accomplished, upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an alternative view where the criss-cross looping is accomplished with two hook members or clips at each side.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the prior art method of applying the tubular vinyl polymer, which results in much greater cost and much greater labor than the arrangements shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view similar to FIG. 1 showing the original looping arrangement in the lower part thereof before the criss-cross looping has been formed, this being an illustration of the original stage of the looping arrangement and the upper part thereof showing how the original parallel strands have been pulled and stretched and hooked into a cries-cross looping with a criss-cross loop being shown by itself above the two side members.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative form of hook arrangement as compared to FIG. 2, in which the hooks are alternated so that the hook on one side will be opposite the space between the two hooks on the other side.

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view similar to FIG. 1 showing the use of an additional tubular strand with the hooks closed thereon to lock the arrangement in position.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, there are shown the tubular members A which may be the side portions of a back or seat of an aluminum chair or chaise lounge.

Mounted on the back of the tubular members A are the elongated hook members B, with the rows of hooks C upon which the tubing is looped. Extending between the hooks are the tubing strands D.

of the hook structure B.

Then the transverse strands, as indicated at 12, are alternated so that one strand is pulled up, as indicated at 13, and looped over an inside hook 14, while the other strand 15 at the other side is pulled up and looped over an inside hook 16.

This can be accomplished with a continuous looped pattern, as indicated at E at the top of FIG. 1, or with a single looped pattern as indicated at F in the lower part of FIG. 1.

In the lower part of FIG. 1 the loops on the hooks 11 are first formed and then one strand is pulled up as indicated at 13 to be looped over the inside hook 14, while the other strand is pulled up, as indicated at 15, to be looped up over the inside hook 16.

The strip B may be as long as desired and it has the openings 17 which receive the mounting screws 18.

In FIG. 3 is shown two single clips 19 with the side hooks 20 on the outside and 21 on the inside.

A single loop circular strand may then be looped as indicated at 22 on the outside hooks and then the strands 23 and 24 are pulled across each other and respectively looped as indicated at 26 and 27 on the inside hooks 21.

It will be noted that this is quite a contrast to the winding method as shown in FIG. 4 in which the strands 28 must be laboriously coiled at 29 around each of the side legs or tubular members A. This arrangement shown in FIG. 4 results in a tremendous amount of labor and very expensive construction, and where one strand 28 is broken the whole strand will be loosened.

In the construction shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 the strands D and G are so compressed by the hooks that they will lock in position, even though there may be a cut or break in the strands.

In the arrangement of FIG. 5 is shown the initial looping arrangement of FIG. 1 in which the strands 50 and 51 are parallel and have not yet been drawn across one another in criss-cross fashion to form the additional loops on the inside hooks, as indicated in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 5 it will be noted that the parallel strands have been looped from the dot and dash positions at 52 and 53 into the solid line position of 54 and 55 where they will engage the outside hooks 56 and 57.

This may be done with a single loop as indicated in FIG. 5 or a continuous strand which may be looped as indicated at 54 and 55 upon each of the outside hooks corresponding to the hooks 56 and 57.

In the first step the inside hooks 58 and 59 are left without being looped.

At the next step the portion 60 of the strand 50 is pulled out and around as indicated by the arrow 61 to loop around the inside hook 59 while the portion 62 of the strand 51 is pulled out and around as indicated by the arrows 63 to loop around the inside hook 58. This will give the inside loops 64 and 65 with the criss-cross pattern as indicated at 66.

The final loop strand is illustrated directly above FIG. 5 and it will be noted that the upper strand 5!] has the inside loop 64 and the outside loop 54 while the lower strand 51 has the inside loop 65 and the outside loop 55.

Although single loops are shown in FIG. 5 it is obvious that the same result may be accomplished with a continuous piece of tubing which extends from the top to the bottom of the vertical members 67 and 68 and which at first has been looped around the outside hooks 56 and 57, first on one side and then on the other side or two or three continuous strands may be employed.

In FIG. 6 is shown a hook strip H in which the hooks alternate in their position along the sides of the strip, which renders it more readily possible to perform the winding operation of FIG. 1.

til

The strip H has an attachment opening 75 with the alternating hooks 76 on one side and 77 on the other side, the base 7 8 will be curved so as to conform to the curvature of the tubular members 67 and 68 of FIG. 5.

In FIG. 7 is shown the use of additional locking tubular strands J, K, L and M which are positioned between the inside hooks and 86 and the outside hooks 87 and 88 which are pressed together to compress the outside loops 39 and 9t and the inside loops 91 and 92 against the strands J, K, L and M.

The strands I, K, L and M may be separate strands or part of the same continuous strands N and P which have been wrapped around the inside and outside hook-s 85 to 38 all inclusive.

As shown there is a parallel winding at 93 and 94but this parallel winding may be converted into a criss-cross winding as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 before the additional strands J, K, L and M have been placed in position and the hooks closed.

In this arrangement, a strand such as indicated at 95 will be looped at 96 around an inside hook 86 and then its end will be looped as indicated at 97 around the outside hook 88 and the upper part of the strand will extend around the tubular member 93 as indicated at 99 to form a parallel strand 100 above the strand 95.

This operation may be successively repeated on alternate sides to give the parallel strands as indicated at 93 and 94-.

As indicated at 101 the end of a strand may be turned upwardly to form a strand K between the inside and outside hooks 85 and 8'7.

It is thus apparent that the applicant has provided a simple, durable, inexpensive method of forming the back and seat or body sup-port portions of tubular aluminum furniture, which may be widely employed in connection with forming support structures for the back or seat or body of the user and which will not release when one or more strands may be accidentally broken.

Although vinyl polymer material is preferred, other stretchable or plastic tubular members may be applied, and even solid body support strands may be applied in this method.

Furthermore the same arrangement may be applied to other than tubular aluminum furniture with other types of metal furniture and even wooden furniture to give desired body support structures.

As many changes could be made in the above aluminum tubular furniture and methods of making the backs and seats thereof, and many widely different embodiments of this invention could he made without departure from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:- l

1. A method of making the body supporting structures for back, seat and body support members for furniture having parallel side attachment members including tubular side structural elements with rows of outside and inside engagement members from tubular stretchable plastic extruded soft vinyl polymer strands which comprise looping the strands between the side members and looping them around the engagement members, said tubular vinyl polymer strands in their final position extending alternately from side to side from the back of a tubular side element to the front of a tubular side element with the cross strands crossing each other midway between the tubular side elements and respectively being obliquely inclined so that they will extend below and above each other on the sides of said crossing and the ends of the strands being looped around the rear sides of the tubular side elements.

2. A method of making the body supporting structures for back, seat and body support members for furniture having parallel side attachment members including tubular side structural elements with rows of outside and inside engagement members from tubular stretchable plastic strands which comprise looping the strands between the side members and looping them around the engagement members, said strands consisting of a stretchable vinyl copolymer, said tubular vinyl polymer strands in their final position extending alternately from side to side from the back of a tubular side element to the front of a tubular side element wtih the cross strands crossing each other midway between the tubular side elements and respectively being obliquely inclined so that they will extend below and above each other on the sides of said crossing and the ends of the strands being looped around the rear sides of the tubular side elements.

3. A method of making the body supporting structures for back, seat and body support members for furniture having parallel side attachment members including tubular side structural elements with rows of outside and inside engagement members from tubular stretchable plastic extruded soft vinyl polymer strands which comprise looping the strands between the side members and looping them around the engagement members, said strands being first looped around the outside engagement members in parallelism and then alternate members being pulled to the side and looped around the inside engagement members to give a criss-cross effect, said tubular vinyl polymer strands in their final position extending alternatively from side to side from the back of a tubular side element to the front of a tubular side element with the cross strands crossing each other midway between the tubular side elements and respectively being obliquely inclined so that they will extend below and above each other on the sides of said crossing and the ends of the strands being looped around the rear sides of the tubular side elements.

4. A method of making the body supporting structures for back, seat and body support members for furniture having parallel side attachment members including tubular side structural elements with rows of outside and inside engagement members from tubular stretchable plastic extruded soft vinyl polymer strands which comprises looping the strands between the side members and looping them around the engagement members, said strands being caused to cross each other by reason of the inside looping on the inside engagement members, said tubular vinyl polymer strands in their final position eX- tending alternately from side to side from the back of a tubular side element to the front of a tubular side element with the cross strands crossing each other midway between the tubular side elements and respectively being obliquely inclined so that they will extend below and above each other on the sides of said crossing and the ends of the strands being looped around the rear sides of the tubular side elements.

5. A method of making the body supporting structures for back, seat and 'body support members for furniture having parallel side attachment members including tubular side structural elements with rows of outside and inside engagement members from tubular stretchable plastic extruded soft vinyl polymer strands which comprises looping the strands between the side members and looping them around the engagement members, said engagement members consisting of rows of hooks positioned on the back portions of the support members and arranged on each side of the support members, said tubular vinyl polymer strands in their final position extending alternately from side to side from the back of a tubular side element to the front of a tubular side element with the cross strands crossing each other midway between the tubular side elements and respectively being obliquely inclined so that they will extend below and above each other on the sides of said crossing and the ends of the strands being looped around the rear sides of the tubular side elements.

6. A criss-cross stranded back, seat and body support structure for furniture including tubular side structural elements having a plurality of tubular stretchable plastic extruded soft vinyl polymer strands looped in a crisscross pattern around the sides of the structure, said tubular vinyl polymer strands in their final position extending alternately from side to side from the back of a tubular side element to the front of a tubular side element with the cross strands crossing each other midway between the tubular side elements and respectively being obliquely inclined so that they will extend below and above each other on the sides of said crossing and the ends of the strands being looped around the rear sides of the tubular side elements.

7. A criss-cross stranded back, seat and body support structure for furniture including tubular side structural elements having a plurality of tubular stretchable plastic strands looped in a criss-cross pattern around the sides of the structure, said strands consisting of extruded tubular vinyl polymer, said tubular vinyl polymer strands in their final position extending alternately from side to side from the back of a tubular side element to the front of a tubular side element with the cross strands crossing each other midway between the tubular side: elements and respectively eing obliquely inclined so that they will extend below and above each other on the sides of said crossing and the ends of the strands being looped around the rear sides of the tubular side elements.

8. A criss-cross stranded back, seat and body support structure for furniture having a plurality of tubular stretchable plastic extruded soft vinyl polymer strands looped in a criss-cross pattern around the sides of the structure, said sides consisting of parallel tubular aluminum members, said tubular vinyl polymer strands in their final position extending alternately from side to side from the back of a tubular side element to the front of a tubular side element with the cross strands crossing each other midway between the tubular side elements and respectively being obliquely inclined so that they will extend below and above each other on the sides of said crossing and the ends of the strands being looped around the rear sides of the tubular side elements.

9. A tubular furniture construction having parallel spaced side tubular frames, each frame having a front side and a rear side, parallel rows of oppositely facing hook members having mountings on the rear sides of the frames with the hooks facing each other and being directed inwardly toward each other from their mounting on the rear sides of the frames and a plurality of stretchable flexible tubular vinyl polymer strands extending obliquely across the frames arranged in crossing oblique pairs of strands which strands extend in each pair from a lower position on one of the sides of the tubular frames to an upper position on one of the opposite sides of tubular frames with the strands obliquely crossing one another midway between the tubular frames and being alternately looped at their ends around the opposite inside and outside facing hooks.

10. The construction of claim 9, said hooks being formed on a strip of metal mounted on the rear sides of the tubular frames and having inturned hooks projecting outwardly and then inwardly from the sides of the strip and screw attachments for said strip to the rear sides of said tubular frames.

11. The method of forming the vinyl strand arrangement of claim 9 which comprises first lacing the strands across the front sides of the tubular frames with the strands all in parallelism and engaging the outside hooks and then stretching and pulling each strand so as to alternately engage an inside hook on the rear face and form a criss-cross pattern of vinyl polymer strands.

8 12. The construction of claim 9, the connections be- References Cited in the file of this patent tween said loops extending obliquely across the front UNITED STATES PATENTS sides of the tubular frame from the top edge of one hook to the bottom edge of an opposite hook. 11423365 Arnold July 1-922 13. The construction of claim 9, an extra Strand of 5 188,560 Todd 1940 tubular vinyl polymer being positioned between the fac- 2726713 Turner 1955 in ends of the hooks and between the bottoms of the 2731077 Turner 1956 loops to hold said loops in position inside of said hooks. FOREIGN PATENTS 14. The construction of claim 9 said vinyl polymer 809,315 France Man 1 1937 strands consisting of a COII'UUUOUS integral strip of vlny 10 1,149,417 France 26, 1957 polymer tubing laced around the tubular frames.

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